2 fine bottles last night

[Roy Hersh]

2007 Curva Reserva Douro White - was initially like a tropical CA Chardonnay, but as it opened further the minerality and Douro character became more obvious. I am not sure what grapes this came from but the acidity and finish were quite good. Considering it is a reasonably priced white Douro wine, this offers fine value for money and should continue to drink well through 2014 or 15, but doubtfully beyond that. 90 points

Dorene and I had not had Douro wine in some time and certainly no time to have two bottles. We decided last night was going to be the night.

2006 Quinta de la Rosa Vinho Tinto - I've had quite a few 2005 Reservas by this producer but not the regular bottling by Jorge Moreira, winemaker at de la Rosa. This was a delicious, approachable and fruit forward vinho tinto with plenty of stuffing for cellaring another half decade. Inexpensive and not hard to find in the marketplace in USA, this is a strong recommendation. Forget the 91 points that I rated this. More importantly, this shows class and breeding and distinctive character that Jorge's wines are becoming well known for. My wife loved this and with food (which we did not have with this wine) I am sure it would have been even beter.